Belgium will recognize a Palestinian state at this month’s United Nations General Assembly, the country’s foreign minister announced early on Tuesday, joining a number of other states in a push intended to pressure Israel over its war on Gaza.
Palestine will be “clearly a state fully recognized on the international stage by Belgium,” the foreign minister, Maxime Prévot, said on social media, though that recognition would take full effect only if key conditions were met.
The “formalization” of the move will take place “once the last hostage has been released and Hamas no longer has any role in managing Palestine,” Mr. Prévot said. It would come by royal decree, he added.
European leaders have been frustrated that Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, has not ended the war, which has destroyed large parts of Gaza. More than 60,000 Palestinians have been killed, including about 18,000 children and minors, according to Palestinian health officials, whose tallies do not distinguish between civilians and combatants. The territory is gripped by a humanitarian crisis, with food-security experts saying that large parts of Gaza are suffering from famine. Israel rejects that designation.
Against that backdrop, President Emmanuel Macron of France said last month that his government would recognize the state of Palestine as part of “its historical commitment to a just and durable peace in the Middle East.” He added that he would make a formal announcement at the U.N. General Assembly meetings, which will take place from Sept. 9 to 23 in New York.
Britain, Canada and Australia, longstanding allies of Israel, announced that they were prepared to follow, and a number of other major nations have since announced that they will, too. The United States and President Trump have criticized the moves.
Most of the United Nations’ 193 members already recognize a Palestinian state, and several European states, including Spain, Ireland and Norway, moved to do so last year, but the politics of recognition remain fraught.
Israel has consistently opposed recognition of Palestinian statehood, saying it would endanger Israel’s security.
Mr. Prévot referred to the Hamas-led attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in his announcement. He acknowledged “the trauma caused to the Israeli people” and explained that it was out of respect for that pain that Belgium would formalize its recognition of Palestine only after all hostages still in Gaza had been returned.
Belgium will also enact sanctions against Israel, including a review of public procurement policies with Israeli companies and a ban on importing products from Israeli settlements, Mr. Prévot announced. He said that two unnamed “extremist” Israeli ministers, “several violent settlers” and Hamas leaders would be designated personae non gratae in Belgium.
“This is not about sanctioning the Israeli people but about ensuring that their government respects international and humanitarian law,” Mr. Prévot said.
Mr. Prévot suggested that Belgium would also support action at a European Union level, voicing support for the idea of ending the association agreement with Israel, which enables economic cooperation between the bloc and Israel.
While the European Commission, the executive arm of the European Union, has proposed suspending parts of the agreement — specifically, limiting participation in a research and development program — it has been unable to gain enough support from member states to take action. Germany, which has the bloc’s biggest economy, has not come around to the idea.
“It is frustrating that we cannot do more,” Kaja Kallas, the E.U.’s top diplomat, said last week, adding, “I feel — all the ministers feel — the pain that we want to do more to help those people.”
Jeanna Smialek is the Brussels bureau chief for The Times.
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